The first item is an antique tea strainer and has nothing to do with absinthe. I'm not sure what the second one is, but I suspect it's something similar.

LIFE.............is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - WOW - What A Ride!

Thank you, all. I assumed as much, but thought I'd ask the pros for good measure.

Speaking of uranium / ouraline / vaseline glass, is it safe to use? Are they all the same (the terms for the same material)? I've seen some mention of them here, but happen to be thinking out loud about it at the moment.

The first item looks like a tea strainer to me.I think the second one is a sugar spoon. I have one that's similar; you scoop the sugar out of the sugar bowl then lightly tap the spoon so the sugar sprinkles through the holes on the right side.Consider the thought put into the design. Most folks are right handed. If you have this spoon in your right hand you'll likely be holding it between your thumb and middle finger then tapping it with your right index finger on the right side of the spoon handle. Each tap causes the spoon to jar to the left and all the powder (sugar) to shift to the right due to inertia. As the powder shifts to the right, it will sift through the holes on the right side of the spoon's bowl. It sounds elaborate and perhaps even overkill but I have lots of Victorian and Edwardian tableware that seems a bit over the top.Here are a couple of examples of specialized salt spoons:http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item2eb0d98044http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item45f6513418

It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this. -- Bertrand RussellBe who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. -- Dr SeussI hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am. -- Joseph BarettiHumankind cannot stand very much reality. -- T. S. Eliot

So much on ebay is wrong either mistakingly or intentionally. Right now there's a guy selling an antique Yvonne glass and spoon, except it is really a common mazagran glass that was multiple use in bistros and quite common. I REALLY get a kick out of the perfume dispensers labeled "absinthe fountains"

There's a reason I get so many pieces from Marc at the musee boutique...you know what you're getting is real, and you know it's in good shape. I have scored a few really nice pieces on Ebay, but you really need to be careful, and it is always good to support the guys who do this for a living.

Ouraline, vaseline glass, depression glass, canary glass, uranium glass...all safe to use. There is harmless radiation all around us. The top soil in some parts of the country makes a geiger counter tick more than an ouraline glass. It is the dust and powders from making the stuff that in quantity can be harmful, but so can having your lungs full of feathers from working on a chicken farm! Would I use it regularly, no...
but that's more my way of keeping it safe!

The only other insight I can offer that hasn't been mentioned already, is that people commonly list pieces on eBay as having an association with absinthe (where this is none) in hopes of receiving premium prices for not so premium items.

In the past I've been told it's okay to do this if it's uranium glass because some fans of absinthe also like uranium glass, but I disagree with that rationalization.

Edited by Phoenix, 27 October 2010 - 11:54 AM.

"He's a politician. It's like being a hooker. You can't be one unless you can pretend to like people while you're f***ing them."

It's also easy to miss really cool items, too. Scroll up the Guy-in-the-White-Hat photo: There he is so proud of his antique brass absinthe glass, he didn't see the vintage yellow porcelain absinthe pitcher on the shelf right behind him.

And it's not only eBay US, I can tell you that eBay France is full of those pseudo absinthe gears too.
1st common mistake: tea strainers, olive spoons, sugar spoons, tomato spoons, etc.
2nd: bistro glasses, pastis glasses, liqueur glasses, wine glasses, everything is "absinthe" as long as you can put something liquid in it.
3rd: fountains for port, whiskey, etc.
4th: carafes, as long as it's written Pernod, Cressonnée or Berger on it, it's a pre-1915 carafe.
5th: topettes
6th: brouilleurs
etc.
etc.

There is nothing wrong with a listing that is wrong due to ignorance if changed once the seller is told.
I have sent a note once or twice, and the seller thanked me and changed the description. There is a lot of stuff that is obviously bullshit however. There has been a guy selling a uranium wine glass calling in an absinthe glass. That is wrong and misleading, and I thank you Phoenix, for pointing out to me when I had some uranium glass on ebay to make it as clear as possible (which I did) that they were NOT actual absinthe glasses.

After further thought on the subject, I agree that even associating is not a great idea, as it encourages others to do the same, which makes for many bad scenarios. So Phoenix, I'm on your side, and have learned much in the last year about honoring these items. Soon you'll be seeing just how much I honor them.

I suggest that if in doubt, ask here! There are many people who can help ID stuff that is fake or advertised
dishonestly.

No one has turned up much of anything absinthe from pre-ban New Orleans, the one Jung & Wulff absinthe bottle is from late 1933 to May 1934. (Not Pre-Ban as has been thought)

No glasses or spoons that originated from the Old Absinthe House, or even photos of people drinking absinthe in any of the bars. (It's not even known if sugar & spoons were popular or even used in NOLA)

Other than a few Herbsaint bottles, and even fewer Herbsaint Glasses, there just hasn't been much to find, places like Lucullus import all their absinthe wares from France.

Do we really need a book that shows absinthe in a bad way even if it is fiction?

Agreed but cut our writer a little slack. The book was apparently first published in 2003 with some excepts dating back to 1995. Only 7 years ago, what did most of us know about absinthe? I was still drinking Czech Absinth Strong and thought it was the real deal chalked full of thujone goodiness.

Perhaps Ms Black will hang around long enough to learn what absinthe is really about, too.